Queens Theatre in the Park (QTP) presents a performance by Jeanne Ruddy Dance on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 3pm at Queens Theatre in the Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY. Tickets are $33 (discounted tickets for groups, seniors and students at $28, $31, $20) and are available at www.queenstheatre.org or by phone at 718-760-0064. The performance is sponsored by TD Bank.

Jeanne Ruddy Dance presents an evening of original work choreographed by the company’s founder (and former Martha Graham principal dancer) Jeanne Ruddy, that illustrates the growth and evolution of this noted troupe over the past decade, in celebration of its 10th Anniversary season. Known for its innovative collection of works by leading contemporary choreographers and Ruddy herself, combining intelligence and spiritually danced poetry, as well as elements of traditional and cutting-edge methodologies, historic and contemporary references and often utilizing multi-media, Jeanne Ruddy Dance has been described as a dazzling contemporary dance company. The Philadelphia-based company focuses on work that celebrates the joys of dance using theatricality, inventive technique and elegance. A free post-show talkback with the Company will follow the performance.

Marking Jeanne Ruddy Dance’s milestone 10th Anniversary, the program will feature three works showcasing a retrospective that spans the decade from the Company’s inception through today, both highlighting the growth of the Company’s depth and range, and revealing the repertory legacy developed over the last ten years by Ruddy herself. SIGNIFICANT SOIL, Ruddy’s signature piece and the first – now iconic -- work created for her own company that was developed out of her celebration of survival from breast cancer, illustrating how life takes on new meaning after faced with the possibility of death. BREATHLESS, the powerfully haunting work that brings the issue of domestic violence from the newsroom to the stage. Born out of Ruddy’s exploration of the ominous qualities of water influenced by Theodore Dreiser’s classic masterwork, An American Tragedy, the work was informed and inspired by the real life stories of murder victims Laci Peterson, Stefanie Rabinowitz and Anne-Marie Fahey, and the similarities between the three cases. BREATHLESS explores the dark side of the American Dream that has become a harsh reality of contemporary life, and lays bare these women’s doomed pursuit of love and success. LARK, Ruddy’s abstract work of lightness and elegance that premiered to rave reviews last season, based on a re-imagined new score by composer/collaborator, Ellen Fishman-Johnson, of Joseph Haydn's masterwork String Quartet No. 5 in D Major, that seeks to define “what we can all relate to in our universal longing to connect.” In a departure from her pure narrative work, Ruddy sought to explore movement that delves into both the negative and positive space between us in an abstract form. Responding to the intricacies of the music, LARK bridges the gap from the 18th century of Hayden’s time to Ruddy’s 21st century world.

The performance is appropriate for ages 13 and up.

Jeanne Ruddy Dance was established in 1998, and went on to acquire its Section 501(c) (3) as a not-for-profit entity in 1999. Since its first performance season in 2000, the dance company has grown to accommodate 10 professional dancers, 4 administrators, a 6 member Board of Directors, a variety of guest choreographers, serves the needs of approximately 3000 community and audience members annually. Jeanne Ruddy Dance’s audiences are geographically concentrated in the Greater Philadelphia area. Aside from those that attend annual company performances, their audience includes primary and secondary school students, adults of all ages, members of the local arts community, key community leaders, financial supporters (public, private and individual) and community partners/ collaborators. In total, this group represents all ages, genders, races, religions, cultures and income levels. Jeanne Ruddy Dance is committed to presenting annual, unique modern dance performances to the Philadelphia community and beyond. Scheduling approximately 10 shows over 2 consecutive weeks each spring, the company showcases original works by its Artistic Director, Jeanne Ruddy, as well as celebrated guest choreographers who are chosen based on their contributions to the genre of dance, potential to further the growth of company dancers and ability to craft works that are relevant and entertaining to audiences.

Jeanne Ruddy (Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer) is a former Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Company where she performed throughout the world and was featured in the PBS Great Performances series in Graham's Cave of the Heart. She also performed leading roles in such Graham works as Andromache's Lament, Diversion of Angels, Deaths and Entrances, Seraphic Dialogue, Clytemnestra, Cortege of Eagles, Embattled Garden, Herodiade, and Appalachian Spring. She has also danced on Broadway in The King and I, starring Yul Brynner and was an original member of Agnes de Mille's Heritage Dance Theatre. In addition, she directed, choreographed and danced in her own company, Jeanne Ruddy and Dancers, in New York City. She received her early dance training in Miami, earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from North Carolina School of the Arts and her Masters of Arts degree from New York University. She directed the Graham-based modern department at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center from 1986 to1995 and was a faculty member of The Juilliard School from 1988 to 1998 under the direction of Martha Hill, Murial Topaz and Benjamin Harkarvy. In addition to her work in New York, Ms. Ruddy was invited to numerous international symposia: The Congress of the Dance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The International Sommerakadamie des Tanzes, Cologne, Germany; and The American Dance Festival in Moscow, Russia, where she was the first to teach the Martha Graham Technique to an advanced group of young Russian artists after Russia opened in 1993. She has been a guest artist where she has taught and choreographed in many of the United States' leading colleges and universities of dance, such as Sarah Lawrence College, Connecticut College and Florida State University. She founded Jeanne Ruddy Dance in 1999 and received The Independence Foundation Fellowship Award in 2000. Other awards and grants include the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America, three Pew Foundation Dance Advance awards, three William Penn Foundation grants, two Fels Foundation awards, and ongoing support from the Independence Foundation, among others. Ruddy recently received her first endowed fund, the Martha LaVallee-Williams Community Outreach Fund, for her Company’s work in the broader community. Each year, Ruddy has set a new work on her Company: Significant Soil, Suite Reel, Out of the Mist, Above the Real, Falling in…, Woa Cholena, Oceans 1: Wetlands, Breathless, and this year’s Lark. She has invited guest choreographers over the last eight years enjoying new perspectives and additional opportunities for the Company dancers. Ms. Ruddy’s ongoing project, in addition to the Company, is the development of the Performance Garage – a dance center for classes, rehearsals, workshops and performances.This performance is sponsored by TD Bank. Jeanne Ruddy Dance is partially supported by the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments.

Tickets are available:* Online at www.queenstheatre.org.* By phone at 718-760-0064, Tue-Sat, 12-6pm.* In person at Queens Theatre in the Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY.

* Multi Show: Order any three or more shows and earn the multi show discount price. This discount is available for any show this season. There is no limit on the number of tickets you can purchase at this discount. If you are already a Theatre or Dance Subscriber or have purchased at least two shows this season, you have already earned this discount on additional ticket purchases.* Groups: Contact group sales associate Barbara Matovu at 718-760-0064 x128 for groups of 15 or more.

Queens Theatre in the Park is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Flushing, NY.By Subway: Take the 7 train to Mets–Willets Point stop. Exit and turn left after passing through turnstile, walk downstairs on the parking lot side and follow the theatre shuttle signs. Take free trolley to the Theatre. Trolley runs for one hour before and after all performances.By Car: Take the Grand Central Parkway to exit 9E (from Manhattan) or 9P (from Long Island) and follow the signs for the Theatre. Free parking in adjacent lot.

About Queens Theatre in the ParkQueens Theatre in the Park is committed to presenting performing arts that provide audiences with the highest quality work. QTP also produces new plays, with a concentration on up-and-coming directors and playwrights. QTP has broadened the experience of its core audience to include works by under-recognized artists from around the world and works that tap into the diverse communities of Queens.Queens Theatre in the Park is located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the New York State Pavilion designed for the 1964 World’s Fair by Philip Johnson. The Pavilion was converted to a theatre in 1972 and was operated by various organizations until 1985. QTP was officially established in 1989 with the full support of the community and the Queens Borough President. After a $4 million renovation that brought full ADA compliance, the Theatre officially opened to the public in 1993 in a facility that allows it to stage productions equal to those of any Off-Broadway house in Manhattan in its 464-seat main stage theatre and its 99-seat studio theatre. What was then a small cabaret-style theater with an operating budget of under $500,000 has transformed itself into a major performing arts center with exhibition galleries with a projected operating budget of $3.5 million for FY10.

QTP became an independent nonprofit in 1997. It is a member of the Cultural Institutions Group receiving support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Theatre presents and produces 300 performances annually. QTP serves 100,000 people annually who reflect the rich demographics of its community population. Currently 75% of the Theatre’s constituency is from Queens. In addition to its own season, QTP frequently provides its space for use by community arts organizations and local promoters.

QTP is soon to complete a $23 million physical transformation of the Theatre with funding provided by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, The Council of the City of New York and the Mayor. This major capital investment has added a 75-seat cabaret performance space with a full service cafe and ******* facility; created a dramatic new 3,000 square foot lobby/reception area; provided new visitor amenities and improved the facility’s accessibility. These improvements have transformed Queens Theatre in the Park into a destination for the residents of the borough and beyond.

Queens Theatre in the Park events are made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Presenting sponsor: TD Bank Funding is provided by The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Jerome Robbins Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and New York Community Trust.

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